Ally McCoist feared Neil Lennon was about to “destroy” him with a live radio gloating session – but the former Celtic boss resisted twisting the knife and instead talked up the “imperious” Hoops.
The Old Firm rivals turned pals once infamously clashed on the Parkhead touchline after the 2011 so-called shame game but these days things between them are a little more convivial. Lennon was invited onto McCoist‘s morning talkSPORT show with Jeff Stelling and the Rangers hero knew he couldn’t let him get away without addressing the elephant in the room.
McCoist’s beloved Gers are a country mile behind Celtic in the Premiership standings, with Brendan Rodgers’ machine firing on all cylinders domestically and in Europe. And after a chat about another of Lennon’s former teams Leicester, McCoist volunteered to take his medicine.
He said: “Neil, you’re going to destroy me, but I’ve got to ask you about Celtic. The draw with Brugge was maybe a bit of a reminder, but the win against Leipzig, that’s as good as I’ve seen Celtic at home in Europe in a long time.”
Lennon stopped short of sticking the boot in though as he said: “In the second half against Leipzig they were terrific. It’s the best I’ve seen them in Europe for a while. In Brugges, I thought they were very good and deserved at least a point out of it. Brendan has a squad at his disposal that’s as strong as it’s been for a long time.
“They’ve spent a lot of money strengthening and that’s what he wanted. Domestically, they’re imperious, they seem to be steamrolling teams. And in Europe, they’ve had a lot of good results.”
Celtic face Aberdeen on Wednesday night in a huge clash at Pittodrie, the Dons needing a victory to reignite their fading title hopes. Lennon will be in attendance for that one as he said: “I’m going up to Pittodrie tomorrow night. Unfortunately, because it’s going to be absolutely baltic! I’ll have about 14 layers on.”